Commissaris Rehn: Turkije moet Cypriotische vliegtuigen en schepen toelaten (en)

Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn i warned Turkey that current accession negotiations will run into serious problems in the autumn if it does not admit Cypriot planes and ships. Taking part in an initial debate in the Foreign Affairs Committee on a parliamentary report on Turkey's progress towards accession, Mr Rehn also told MEPs on Tuesday that he was concerned at the loss of momentum in Turkey's reform process.

Referring to the Ankara Protocol which provides for the extension of Turkey's Association Agreement with the EU to the ten new member states, including Cyprus, Mr Rehn said that "if Turkey wants to avoid major problems in the autumn, it must keep its word (...) and comply with the obligations emanating from the Association Agreement and the Accession Partnership. Failure to do so will impact negatively on the negotiations." He added that the European Commission will publish its report on Turkey's progress in the autumn. Mr Rehn urged Turkey to take steps for the normalisation of relations with Cyprus, such as no longer vetoing Cyprus's membership of international organisations. The EU, on its part, also needed to do more, he said, to end the isolation of the northern part of Cyprus and permit it to trade directly with the EU.

The Commissioner noted progress, however, with respect to human rights: "NGOs tend to agree that overall human rights violations have decreased across the country." But he was concerned about freedom of expression and called for a drastic changes to article 301 of the Turkish constitution. Mr Rehn was seriously worried about unrest in south-eastern Turkey, unequivocally condemning the PKK for its attacks. However, a government policy concerned with security alone was not the answer, he said. Greater efforts were needed to improve the social-economic situation and Kurdish cultural rights, the Commissioner insisted, while the Semdinli bookshop case raised questions regarding the independence of the judiciary.

Rapporteur Camiel Eurlings (EPP-ED, NL) said that the reforms in Turkey had not accelerated since the decision to open accession negotiations was taken in 2005, but rather had slowed down. He called on the Turkish parliament to improve the ninth package of reforms to be voted before the summer recess and to ensure more rigorously the implementation of reforms. Mr Eurlings mentioned some other points of concern as well, such as the new anti-terrorism law which could result in a worsening of the freedom of expression and the pending "law on foundations" on the rights of religious communities. Regarding the Ankara Protocol, the rapporteur said that Turkey had a legal obligation to execute it. "This is not a request, but a necessity", he added. Mr Eurlings urged the scrapping of the 10 per cent threshold to enter parliament as a means to allow Kurds to exercise their democratic rights.

Some MEPs, such as Geoffrey Van Orden (EPP-ED, UK), Pasqualina Napolitano (PES, IT), Andrew Duff (ALDE, UK) and Emine Bozkurt (PES, NL) objected to the "tone of voice" with which Turkey has recently been tackled on its perceived shortcomings. Commissioner Rehn said his objective was to continue to encourage Turkey to stay on the reform track. "Remaining silent would only help those forces who are opposed to reforms," he added.

Mr Eurling's own-initiative report is scheduled for a vote in the Foreign Affairs Committee in July and in plenary in September.

21/06/2006

Committee on Foreign Affairs

Chair : Elmar BROK (EPP-ED, DE)

Procedure: Own-initiative

Plenary vote: September, Strasbourg